Positionable chair



Aug. 22, 1967, w. c. ROGERS, JR 3,337,267

POSITIONABLE CHAIR Filed Jan. 27, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 l3 l2 1 V Z I I S WALTER CLARK ROGERS,JR.

I NVENTOR ATTORNEYS 1967 I w. c. ROGERS, JR 3,337,267

POSITIONAI 3LE CHAIR Filed Jan. 27, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H04 V y WALTER CLAR K ROG ERS,JR

ATTORNEYS Aug. 22,1967

W. C. ROGERS, JR

POSITIONABLE CHAIR s Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan 27, 1966 INVENTOR WALTER CLARK ROGERS JR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiiice 3,337,267 Patented Aug. 22, 1967 3,337,267 POSITIONABLE CHAIR Walter Clark Rogers, In, High Point, N.C., assignor to Royal Development Company, Inc., High Point, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Jan. 27, 1966, Ser. No. 523,296 7 Claims. (Cl. 297-322) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A position chair including a base, a chair frame incorporating a seat, and support links pivotally mounting the chair frame to the base for movement between a lower, normal position and a raised and forward position for reclining. Movement of the chair frame to its raised position is produced by a backrest pivotally connected to the frame for movement between an upright position and an inclined or reclining position. The pivotal connection of the backrest is provided by a backrest link having one end fixed to the backrest and a lower crank end projecting downwardly and forwardly with its extremity being pivotally connected to an oppositely directed crank portion angularly projecting rearwardly from one of the support links at a location above the pivotal connection of the support link to the chair frame. A third link is pivotally connected at one end to the backrest link and at its opposite end to the chair frame to provide first and second fulcrums respectively. Upon movement of the backrest into reclining position, the backrest link and the third link will pivot virtually together about the second fulcrum and thereafter upon continued movement of the backrest into the reclining position, the backrest link will pivot about the first fulcrum relative to the third link to ultimately place the chair frame in its raised and forward position by pivoting the support link upwardly in counterclockwise direction.

The invention relates to a variable position chair in which the chair seat and back are controllably movable and particularly to a chair assembly in which the main chair frame with its included seat is actuated to swingably move relative to a stationary supporting base upon movement of the chair back relative to the main chair frame and stationary supporting base. The motion of the chair back may be a tilting motion in which the back pivots between an upright position and a reclined position.

Reclining chair assemblies are well known in which the chair seat and chair back move between a normal position in which the seat and back define a normal seating angle, and a reclined position in which the seat is moved forwardly or rearwardly relative to the chair base and the back is tilted rearwardly from the seat to'include therewith a large obtuse angle. US. Patent 3,139,305 and US. Patent 3,128,122 are typical of this prior art. However, in all of these prior chair assemblies, the seat proper and the back are supported by a fixture from the main chair frame to which the supporting legs are attached, so that the seat and back are movable within and relative to the main chair frame, which includes the chair arms. This construction results in a bulky chair, particularly the chair sides, inasmuch as clearance must be provided between the sides of the chair seat and the chair frame for mounting the support fixture. Further, the movable seat must be shallow and cannot be provided with deep, well-constructed springs as utilized in conventional, non-reclining chairs.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide'an improved reclining chair which overcomes the above-mentioned limitations of prior or conventional reclining chairs.

A further object of this invention is to provide a chair With movable seat and back in which deep inner springs are utilized in the construction of the seat.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a reclining chair assembly having a chair frame with minimum bulk, particularly in the side sections.

Another object is to provide a reclining chair assembly in which the entire chair frame with the arm rest and seat move relative to the supporting base when the back is moved relative to the seat.

The foregoing objects are achieved in a chair assembly in which the seat with deep inner springs is fixed or integrally incorporated into the chair frame proper and the chair frame with seat and arm rests is movably supported on a stationary base which may have smaller total horizontal dimensions than the chair frame, by a supporting linkage system which swings the chair frame upwardly and rearwardly or upwardly and forwardly relative to the base. The chair back is mounted for separate movement relative to the chair frame by supports which are pivotally connected to the chair frame supporting linkage system in a manner that movement of the back relative to the seat actuates the chair supporting links to swing the entire chair frame and the back relative to the base.

These features and objects of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the chair assembly utilizing one embodiment of the linkage system for movably supporting the chair frame and the back on a base in which the chair is in the normal upright position.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation in section illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the chair in the normal upright position.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 but with the chair in the reclined position.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation in section of the chair illustrating a second embodiment of the linkage system by which the chair frame and back are supported, with the chair in the normal upright position.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 4 but with the chair in the reclined position.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation in section of the chair assembly illustrating a third embodiment of the linkage system by which the chair frame and back are supported, with the chair in the normal upright position.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 6 but with the chair in the rearward or reclined position.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmental side view of a chair assembly, in normal position, representing a fourth and preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but with the chair assembly in the reclined position.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the chair comprises the main chair frame 10 of standard construction having side frames 11 at either end of which are aflixed the horizontal front frame 12 and rear frame 13 to form a closed box in which the seat 14 is installed. The seat 14 with the usual deep inner springs is indicated in outline in dotted lines in FIG. 2 only and is omitted elsewhere for clarity of illustration. The detailed construction and full support structure for the seat 14 in the chair frame 10 are not illustrated, again for clarity of illustration. The chair frame sides are created by the vertical arm rest supports 15 which extend upwardly from the side frames 11 to support the front of the horizontal arm rests 16 whose rear portion rests on the side frames 11. The chair back 17, which is separate from the chair frame 10, is of conventional construction having a closed frame consisting of the side pieces 18 joined at the top and bottom by the upper and lower frames 19 and 20 respectively. The chair back cushion and springs fitting within the box structure of the back are not illustrated, for purposes of clarity.

The chair frame and the back 17 are movably supported on a base 20 by a linkage system which will be subsequently described. The chair base 21 comprises two main support tubes 21 which are parallel to the side frames 11 of the chair frame and spaced apart less than the distance between the two chair side frames 11 joined at their center sections by two cross tubes 24. In the presently described embodiment, the central portions of each of the support tubes 21 lie parallel to the bottom edge of the side frames 11 with the ends 23 bending downwardly and terminating in pedestals 23 which rest flatly on the floor to provide four points of support for the chair base 20. The total horizontal area enclosed by the four pedestals 23, on which the chair base rests, is less than the total horizontal bottom area of the chair frame 10 as defined by the side frames 11 and the front and rear frame members 12 and 13. A skirt 25 is affixed to the side frames 11 and the front and rear frames 12 and 13 to hang downwardly as illustrated in FIGS. 2-7 to mask the base 28. The skirt 25 is not illustrated in FIG. 1 so that the base structure will not be hidden from view.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the first embodiment of the linkage system by which the chair frame 10 and the back 17 are separately movably supported on the base 20. A seat link 26 is affixed to the chair frame 10 by suitable fastenings 27 in blocks afiixed to the inside of side frames 11. A forward support link 28 pivotally connects at one end to the forward portion of seat link 26 at pivot 29 and at the other end to the central portion of a main base support tube 21 at pivot 30. A rear support link 31 is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the seat link 26 at pivot 32, which is rearwardly of the forward pivot 29, and the lower end is pivotally connected at pivot 33 to the rear portion of the main base support tube 21. The stop 34 projecting from the seat support link 26 contacts the forward support link 28 when the chair frame 10 is in the forward position. Thus the chair frame 10 is movably supported on the base 20 by the four-bar linkage system having pivots 29, 30, 32 and 33 so that the chair frame 10 may swing upwardly and rearwardly from the normal position in FIG. 2 to the reclined position of FIG. 3. The four-bar support link arrangement is actuated by the connecting links which will next be described.

The upper portion of a back link 35 is afiixed to the back 17 through suitable fastenings 36 attaching to the chair side pieces 18 and the lower end of the back link 35 is pivotally connected to the rear of the seat link 26 at pivot 37. An actuating link 38 is pivotally connected at one end to the upper end to the central section of the back link 35 at pivot 40. Obviously the actuating link could be pivotally connected between the back link and the rear support link at other locations or could even be connected to the forward support link. A stop 41 is suitably mounted on the chair base to contact the back link 35 at the rearward reclined position of the back 17 to prevent further rearward motion.

In the normal, upright position of the chair, illustrated in FIG. 2, with the front support link 28 in contact with the stop 34, the chair frame 10 is in the forward position with the back 17 defining the normal seating angle relative to the seat 14. If rearward pressure is exerted by the chair occupant on the back 17, the back 17 pivots on the back link 35 about the pivot 37 relative to the seat link 26. The motion of the back link 35 is transmitted through the actuating link 38 to the rear support link 31 to rotate that link and the forward support link 28 in swinging the chair frame 111, along with the tilting back 17, upwardly and rearwardly relative to the base 20 until the back link 35 contacts the stop 41 when the chair reaches the reclined position illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, tilting motion of the back 17 relative to the chair frame 10 moves the entire chair frame with back 17 in a swinging motion relative to the base 20.

A second embodiment of the chair frame and back supporting structure is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. As in the first embodiment, a seat link 46 affixed to the side frames of the chair frame 18 by suitable fastenings 47 is swingably supported from the support rods 21 of the base 26 by a forward support link 48 having pivotal connections 49 and 59 to the seat link 46 and the support tube 21 and by a rear support link 51 having pivotal connections 52 and 53 on the seat link and support tube so as to form the same four-bar linkage system utilized in the previously described embodiment. A stop 54 projecting from the seat link 46 engages the front support link 48 when the chair frame is in the normal forward position. Thus the chair frame 10 may swing upwardly and rearwardly relative to the base 20 from the forward position of FIG. 4 when an actuating force is applied to the four-bar linkage supporting system as in the previously described embodiment.

The rear support link 51 in this embodiment is in the form of a bellcrank in which the segment 55 above the pivot 52 on the seat link 46 bends rearwardly to establish a back link portion 55 which is afiixed to the side pieces 18 of the back 17 by suitable fastenings 36. A stop 61 affixed to the sides of the chair frame 10 is positioned to contact the back link portion 55 when the back 17 is pivoted to the rearwardly reclined position of FIG. 5. Thus as in the previous embodiment, back pressure on the chair back 17 exerted by the chair occupant causes the back supported by the back link portion 55 to pivot about the pivot 52 and at the same time actuate the supporting links 48 and 51 to raise the seat link 46 and the chair frame 10 in an upwardly and rearwardly swinging motion until the chair reaches the reclined position of FIG. 5 when the back link portion 55 contacts the stop 61.

A third embodiment of the chair frame and back linkage support system is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. As in the previous two embodiments, a seat link 66 is affixed to the side frames 11 of the chair frame 10 by suitable fastenings 67 and is movably supported on the base 20 by two support links to form a four-bar linkage system. In this case the front support link 68 is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the seat link 66 at pivot 69 and pivotally connected at its lower end to the base support tube 21 at pivot 70. The rear support link 71 is likewise pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the seat link 66 at the pivot 72 and is pivotally connected at its lower end to the base support tube 21 by pivot 73. A stop 74 projects from the seat link 66 in a position to engage the front support link 68 when the chair frame 10 is in the forward normal position. Thus as before, the chair frame 10 is swingably supported by a four-bar linkage system and may be swung between the forward position of FIG. 6 rearwardly to the rearward, or reclined pozitrgn of FIG. 7, upon actuation of the support links 68 an A back link 75 is afiixed at its upper end to the back 17 by suitable fasteners 76 connecting to the side pieces 18. The forward lower end of the back link 75, which is shaped in a curving arc, is pivotally connected at pivot 77 to the upper end of the front support link 68 and the upper end of the rear support link 71 is pivotally connected to an intermediate section of the back link 75 at pivot 78. A stop 79 affixed to the chair frame 10 contacts the back link 75 when the back link is moved rearwardly to the reclined position of the chair. Again as before, rearward pressure on the back 17 moves the back link 75 rearwardly relative to the seat link 66 and concurrently rotates the support links 68 and 71 rearwardly to raise the chair frame 10 upwardly and rearwardly relative to the base 21 until the back link 75 contacts the stop 79 in the reclined position illustrated in FIG. 7.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is shown a fourth and preferred embodiment of the invention having a chair frame 10 and back 17 similar to the embodiments described above but with a slightly different base.

' In the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9, base tubes 91 are interconnected by a cross piece 92 at the back of the chair and the legs 93 are attached in any suitable manner to the front ends of base tubes 91 and the opposite ends of cross piece 92.

In the preferred embodiment, the front and rear support links 94 and 96 are pivoted to the base tubes 91 and the seat link 98 to extend at an incline from base link 91 toward back rest 17. Rear support link 96 has an upper cranked portion 102 which extends beyond rear link pivot 104 approximately at an angle of 135 relative to the main portion of rear support link 96. Actuation of rear support link 96 to move the chair relative to the base is again accomplished through a back link 106 pivotally connected at 108 to the extremity of crank portion 102 of rear support link 96. Back link 106 includes a main portion fixed to back rest and a lower portion 110 which projects at an angle of approximately 135 from the main portion and is connected at its extremity by pivot 108 to rear support link 102 as noted above.

In order to limit movement of the back rest 17 relative to the chair frame, there is provided a short link 112 connected at its one end by pivot 114 to the adjacent end of seat link 98 and at its opposite end by pivot 116 to back link 106 generally between the main and projected portions of the back link. Link 112 also enhances suppport of the back rest.

Movement of the chair frame beyond its two extreme positions relative to the base is prevented by a stop bar 120 which is suitably fixed at 122 to base tube 91 and projects upwardly and forwardly at an angle of approximately 45. Formed in stop bar 120 is an elongated slot 123, the walls at the opposite ends of which serve to alternately engage a stop pin 124 fixed intermediate the ends of front support link 94 to extend through slot 123.

In the normal position of the chair with the back rest extending in the upright position shown in FIG. 8, movement of the chair frame rearwardly towards the back rest is prevented by engagement between stop pin 124 and the end wall of slot 123 in stop bar 120, while movement of the back rest forwardly or in a counter-clockwise direction is prevented by link 112.

If it is desired to move the chair into the reclining position shown in FIG. 9, pressure is exerted against the back rest to rotate it in a clockwise direction and this will cause back link 106 to rotate rear support link 96 in a counter-clockwise direction to thus raise and also forwardly move the chair frame relative to the base. The inclined position of the back rest is governed by link 112 while the forward position of the chair frame is governed by the stop bar 120.

In order to return the back rest to upright position, one merely has to release pressure, such as by leaning forward, on the back rest whereby the weight of the person in the chair will cause the support bars 94 and 96 to rotate clockwise to move the chair frame rearwardly and to cause the back rest to move into the upright position.

Obviously two sets of chair frame and back linkage support members are preferred in all embodiments, one set being mounted on the inside of the left and right sides of the lower chair frame as well as on either side of the back frame as illustrated in FIG. 1. All of the embodiments illustrated permit the use of a deep-seat in the chair frame and the utilization of full depth seat springs. Unlike prior reclining chairs, the arm rests and entire chair frames move with the seat which may be fixed to an integral part of the chair frame. The skirt 25 hanging below the chair frame conceals base 20 from view. In addition to the above advantages, the chair of the present invention is also smoothly and conveniently operable between normal and reclining positions and moreover, is of a durable construction which will experience a long and useful life.

While the above matter describes and illustrates several embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that the invention is not restricted solely to the described embodiments but that it covers all modifications which should be apparent to anyone skilled in the art and which fall within the scope and spirit of the invention indicated in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A position chair comprising in combination, a base. a chair frame including a seat, first linkage means mounting said chairframe with respect to the base for move ment between an. upper and forward position and a lower and rearward position relative to said base, a backrest mounted to said chair frame for swinging movement relative thereto between a generally upright position and an inclined position, second linkage means connecting said backrest to said first linkage means to cause movement of said chair frame into its upper and forward position when the backrest is swung to an inclined position, said first linkage means including a main portion extending from said base rearwardly toward said backrest and having one end pivotally connected to said base and an opposite end pivotally connected with respect to said chair frame, said support link further including a crank portion rigidly projecting at an angle beyond said opposite end of said main portion generally in the direction of said base, said second linkage means including a backrest link having a first portion fixed with respect to said backrest and a second, crank portion rigidly projecting at an angle from said first portion and in a generally forward direction with respect to the chair, said crank portions being pivotally interconnected generally at their free ends such that movement of said backrest link occasioned by movement of the backrest into an inclined position is transmitted to the support link to raise and move forwardly the chair frame, and a third linkage means pivotally connecting said backrest with respect to said chair frame including a third link having a first pivot means on one end pivotally connecting said third link with respect to said backrest link for pivotal movement only and having a second pivot means on its opposite end pivotally connecting said third link with respect to said chair frame for pivotal movement only such that upon initial movement of the backrest to an inclined position, said second pivot means acts as a fulcrum for the backrest with the backrest link and said third link pivoting together virtually without relative movement about said second pivot means, and upon continued movement of said backrest into a further inclined position, said first pivot means acts as a fulcrum for said backrest link with the backrest link pivoting relative to said third link and about said first pivot means to ultimately place the chair frame in its extreme upper and forward position, said third link also acting as a stop means limiting movement of said backrest into the inclined position.

2. A position chair defined in claim 1 wherein said first pivot means of said third link is situated generally between said first portion and crank portion of said backrest link and wherein said second pivot means .is positioned rearwardly of the pivotal connection of said support link to the chair frame.

3. The position chair defined in claim 2 wherein both of said crank portions extend at obtuse angles with respect to said support and backrest links respectively.

4. The position chair defined in claim 3 wherein said obtuse angles are both approximately 5. The position chair defined in claim 4 wherein said first linkage means further includes a second support link positioned forwardly with respect to said first mentioned support link and having its opposite ends pivotally connected with respect to said base and said chair frame.

.6. The position chair defined in claim 5 further including a stop means limiting forward movement of the chair frame relative to said base upon movement of said backrest into inclined position.

7 8 7. The position chair defined in claim 6 further in- 2,343,739 3/1944 Bernstein 297--341 eluding arm rests rigidly fixed with respect to the chair 2,764,224 9/1956 Maurer 297316 frame entirely independent of said base and wherein said 2,860,691 11/ 1958 Caesar 297322 chair frame has horizontal dimensions at least as great 2,994,363 8/1961 Fox 297-85 as said base. 5 3,131,965 5/1964 Mohler 29789 References Cited 3,198,576 8/1965 Rosmarin 297342 UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 868,052 10/1907 Wilrnot 297320 593,283 10/1947 Great Britain. 942 817 12/1909 Flindall 29787 570,116 12/1957 It I 1,640,968 3/1927 Southern 297316 a y 2,028,633 1/ 1936 Thomas 297322 FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A POSITION CHAIR COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A BASE A CHAIR FRAME INCLUDING A SEAT, FIRST LINKAGE MEANS MOUNTING SAID CHAIR FRAME WITH RESPECT TO THE BASE FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN UPPER AND FORWARD POSITION AND A LOWER AND REARWARD POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID BASE, A BACKREST MOUNTED TO SAID CHAIR FRAME FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO BETWEEN A GENERALLY UPRIGHT POSITION AND AN INCLINED POSITION, SECOND LINKAGE MEANS CONNECTING SAID BACKREST TO SAID FIRST LINKAGE MEANS TO CAUSE MOVEMENT OF SAID CHAIR FRAME INTO ITS UPPER AND FORWARD POSITION WHEN THE BACKREST IS SWUNG TO AN INCLINED POSITION, SAID FIRST LINKAGE MEANS INCLUDING A MAIN PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID BASE REARWARDLY TOWARD SAID BACKREST AND HAVING ONE END PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID BASE AND AN OPPOSITE END PIVOTALLY CONNECTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID CHAIR FRAME, SAID SUPPORT LINK FURTHER INCLUDING A CRANK PORTION RIGIDLY PROJECTING AT AN ANGLE BEYOND SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID MAIN PORTION GENERALLY IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID BASE, SAID SECOND LINKAGE MEANS INCLUDING A BACKREST LINK HAVING A FIRST PORTION FIXED WITH RESPECT TO SAID BACKREST AND A SECOND, CRANK PORTION RIGIDLY PROJECTING AT AN ANGLE FROM SAID FIRST PORTION AND IN A GENERALLY FORWARD DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO THE CHAIR, SAID CRANK PORTIONS BEING PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTED GENERALLY AT THEIR FREE ENDS SUCH THAT MOVEMENT OF SAID BACKREST 